Florfenicol, also known as [R-(R*, S*)]-2,2-Dichloro-N-[1-(fluoromethyl)-2-hydroxy-2-[4-(methylsulfonyl)pheny l]ethyl]acetamide, is a broad spectrum antibacterial agent useful in the treatment of gram positive, gram negative and rickettsial infections as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,361,557 which is hereby incorporated by reference. The present invention relates to intermediates to florfenicol and to a novel process for preparing them. The intermediates described in the present specification can be used to prepare florfenicol as can be seen, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,352, which is hereby incorporated by reference.